JOHANNESBURG: South African gold mining giant Sibanye-Stillwater announced plans Thursday to shed more than 6,000 jobs, or 10 per cent of its workforce, from underperforming gold mines.

The company is one of the biggest employers in the South African mining industry, and job cuts are politically sensitive ahead of May general elections in a country where more than a quarter of the workforce are unemployed.

Sibanye-Stillwater said five shafts at its Beatrix and Driefontein operations - its largest of three gold mines - made financial losses last year despite efforts to turn things around.

It has therefore initiated the process to lay off 5,870 full-time and 800 casual workers.

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“Contemplating potential restructuring of this nature is never taken lightly,” said the company’s CEO Neal Froneman.

“Our best attempts to address the ongoing losses at these operations, have however been unsuccessful and sustaining these losses may threaten the viability of our other operations,” he said.

The targeted workers are employed at Beatrix mine, in the central Free State province, and at Driefontein, north of the economic hub Johannesburg.